Stiles was getting worse and worse.
Lydia was worried.
As he lay on the couch, asleep, Lydia went to seek solutions.
She went to Deaton. Clearly whatever was affecting Stiles wasn't something that could be cured with cough syrup or penicillin.
"This virus, or more accurately, this possession, is dark. It feeds off of hate, and anger. Chaos and strife. What it needs is a counteract. The opposite of evil, or hatred." Deaton turned to Lydia. "Love."
"Love?" She repeated. Something so apparently evil and dark could be brought down with affection and compassion.
"It's not as simple as you think though." He began shifting through glass vials. "It comes with a cost." He continued shifting through until he held a cylindrical container. "Lydia, if you want to save Stiles, you'll have to make him fall in love with you."
"That doesn't sound too difficult." Lydia said, reminiscing on Stiles's crush on her, although it may have matured, it was still there.
"There's a catch. You have to make him fall in love with you in 24 hours and without your voice."
She stared incredulously at him, and often glanced at the floor. "What happens if I fail?" Her tone was shaky and anxious. She really thought she may fail. Getting an evil being to fall in love with her won't be easy, even if it's inside Stiles.
"You will be possessed as well. Adding to the chaos and evil."
Her eyes stared at the tiles on the ground. Her expression held anguish and distress. Her brain wandered through possibilities.
"Can you handle it?" Deaton asked, concerned.
"Is there any other way?" She asked.
"I suppose not. You're the only one with a strong enough emotional connection that I believe could pull Stiles from the Nogitsune's grip."
Her face still seemed irregular about the situation, but she was determined.
"Will he still love me when the possession subsides?" Her delivery was quiet, and held only wonder.
"Only if you want him to. When you sign this contract, your true feelings for how you wish it to end will verify after the 24 hour period."
Lydia was overwhelmed. But she still had no doubts about turning away. Taking this chance would, hopefully, eliminate innocent people appropriating any injuries. Unless, of course, she was unsuccessful.
"Let's do it." Lydia had confidence and constantly reassured herself that everything would work out.
Deaton opened the metal container and slid out a yellowish document. A long worded contract stating that her winning Stiles's heart would secure his return to his original state. She swallowed. Her nerves made her hands shake, but she disregarded them and took the pen that was located in the container as well. She bit her lip and stared down at the blank line. She looked at the clock, 1:34.
She conjectured her success. With her level of conviction, it was likely. She lowered the pen to the paper, wasting no more time, and signed her name legibly in cursive.
"You better get going, the 24 hours begin now." Deaton told her as she walked out the door.
Lydia arrives at Stiles's house, where she dropped him off because he kept having fainting spells earlier at school.
She walks in to find him sitting up on the couch, awake.
Lydia smiles lightly at him.
"I'm feeling better. You can leave." He says it with an intonation that Lydia knows isn't authentic. She swallows. Her heels take her around the couch to stand in front of him. She kneels down and looks up into his eyes. This action was significantly more difficult than she thought it would be due to the fact that his eyes looked menacing and were the defining feature of his evil appearance.
